The present invention relates to a gaseous fuel for combustion with oxygen to provide an intense flame temperature for use in the heat working or treatment of ferrous and nonferrous metals, and an effective method for generating and dispensing said gaseous fuel.
Gaseous fuel mixtures have been extensively employed for welding and heating of metals, for example in connection with preheating of metals in cutting operations, in lead burning, case hardening, metal spraying, and the like. Thus, a gaseous fuel consisting of propane, propylene, and a mixture of propylene oxide with diethyl ether is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,951,750. Another type of fuel gas mixture is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,411,759, consisting of benzine, diethyl ether, and propane. Fuel gas mixtures of the foregoing types have been conventionally stored in cylinders or other suitable vessels, under pressure, and dispensed through a conventional type of exit valve, which is connected to the particular metal working apparatus being employed.
A disadvantage of the prior art fuel mixtures and dispensing systems has been that, although the individual components have been miscible, they have not been dependably discharged from pressure cylinders or like vessels in the desired proportions, owing to differences in boiling points and volatility characteristics.